Federal Pot Case in CO Highlights Worry Among Growers of Medical Marijuana

'Jeff Sweetin, special agent in charge of the DEA's Rocky Mountain Region, said state and local police hesitate to go after pot growers because of the conflict between state and federal law. Federal authorities are the only ones left to enforce marijuana laws, he said.

"I'm not here to be the regulator of medical marijuana," Sweetin said, adding he'd prefer to "work the highest-level drug-trafficking organizations."

Instead, he fields daily phone calls and e-mails about medical marijuana growers. Half want the DEA to ignore them; half want the DEA to bust neighborhood dispensaries, he said.

A brief filed in Bartkowicz's case by U.S. Attorney David Gaouette argues that no matter what Coloradans voted for, no grow operation gets a federal pass.

"Colorado's state drug law does not, and cannot, abrogate federal drug laws," Gaouette wrote.'